


Starbucks Screwup

by taylorslistofexlovers



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Cute, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Percy is a Dork, non demigod au, percabeth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:55:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5584492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylorslistofexlovers/pseuds/taylorslistofexlovers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Percy works at Starbucks and screws up Annabeth's order</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Name please."

"Annabeth. That's A-n-n-" she started

"-I can spell, thanks." the barista interrupted. Okay, if he spelled her name wrong, she was gonna be pissed! Sure enough, when she got her cup it said 'Annabel' instead of 'Annabeth'. She couldn't resist saying something.

"Hey," she paused so she could read his name tag. "Hey Percy!" He looked up. Oh gods he was hot. On a scale from one to ten, he was an eleven.

"Yeah? What do you want?" Percy asked, clearly annoyed. She didn't know what to say. Her only thoughts were on the color of his eyes. Were they blue? Or green? It reminded her of the color of the ocean. She shook her head slightly, and snapped out of it.

"You spelled my name wrong, Mr. 'I can spell'." Annabeth said rudely, trying to sound angry instead of in love with the way his hair flopped over his eyes ever so slightly. He smiled.

"Let me make it up to you." He handed her a piece of paper. "Write your name and number down so I can take you to a place that'll spell your name right." Her heart fluttered. Was he asking her out?! He, Percy, gave her a wink and resumed working. No way was she turning down this offer. Annabeth quickly scribbled down her name and number. She set it down next to the cash register, with a happy glint in her eyes. When Percy looked up, she was glad to see he had one too.

Annabeth couldn't help but stare at her phone the entire walk home. And when she got home. And while she was eating dinner. It had been almost an hour and a half! WHY HAD HE NOT TEXTED HER YET?! Just then, her phone buzzed with a text from Percy.  _Hey Annabeth, just got off my shift. Hope you didn't miss me too much ;)_ Her heart did happy jumps when she saw who the text was from. Her heart did happy somersaults when she read that he just finished his shift, and wasn't avoiding her. She could't help but roll her eyes at the second half of his text. The answer was HELL YES, but she couldn't let him know that obviously. She thought about it for a minute and then responded  _Yikes. Didn't realize you were one of those people…_ She eagerly waited his response. She threw her head back laughing when she read it.  _I thought it was obviously I was charmingly funny. Yikes. Maybe you're not as smart as you let on._ So he had some wit, but he was still an idiot-or at least until she thought of a better word- for misspelling Annabeth. She clearly, stated the 'beth' part, not 'bel'.  _Touché. But I'm not the one who, after claiming they knew how to spell it , spelled the others names wrong._

A whole two minutes pass. Annabeth starts to worry that he was mad. She thought about saying sorry, but saw the familiar gray typing bubble. WIthin ten seconds his response came in,  _Sorry that I had never heard the name Annabeth before. But now that I have, I'll certainly never be forgetting it._  Percy was smooth as hell. The worst part was, he probably knew it too. But, having nothing to say, Annabeth just sent three clapping emojis. She got rewarded with a smiley face… and a follow up text.  _Come in tomorrow morning around ten and I promise to have a grande caramel frappe waiting, with your name spelled CORRECTLY on it._ Annabeth smiled, he remembered her order!  _Sounds like a date :D_

_…_

9:30 the next morning:

Annabeth had changed her outfit three times already and still wasn't sure if it was good. Percy was so lucky that he had to wear his uniform, and didn't have to worry about this. She texted her her best friend Thalia with pictures of the three pictures. Checking for Thalia's response she saw that it was already 9:32! She had to leave in three minutes if she wanted to make it on time! After pacing for about a minute Thalia's response came.  _I like the last one. Now go get him! ;)_ Annabeth laughed, and quickly grabbed her purse and put on her shoes. On her walk there she thought about her outfit. A cute black and white striped crop top, with a high waisted maroon skirt, and black combat boots. The outfit was sexy- it even showed part of her stomach!- yet conservative. Super trendy too. She felt her ears and was relieved to feel both of her pearl earrings in. Smiling, she put on some music and practically strutted her way to Starbucks.

…

10:00 am

It was officially 10:00 and Annabeth hadn't walked in the doors yet. Percy tried not to panic, because she said she would be here, but he was getting a little antsy. The frappe next to him was causing questions from his co-workers, and it would be INCREDIBLY embarrassing if she didn't show up. Finally, at 10:03, Annabeth walked into Starbucks, with a huge grin on her face. She stood behind the one person in line, and not-so-patiently waited. When she got to the front, Percy smiled at her. "Here is your drink, with your name spelled correctly, m'lady." he said with a bow. Annabeth couldn't help but laugh at his dramatics. "I'm taking my break!" Percy called to his co-workers. He took off his green apron and stood next to her. "Any table's a winner."

Annabeth looked around and spotted an open two seater in the corner. "That one. So the four seaters can be filled for people who actually need them."

"Very practical." Percy said with a chuckle. "Now if you will excuse me, I'm gonna go get a drink for myself." He walked back over to the counter to go order, and she couldn't help but stare at his butt.  _Dang_ , she thought, _it looks good._ She was so focused on it, she didn't even notice Percy getting his drink. He turned around, and she quickly averted her eyes. Percy swaggered back to the table, giant smirk on his face. Annabeth was sure her face was a tomato at this point.

"Yikes. Staring at my butt." he started with a teasing voice, "I guess you finally caught on to my charm."

"You wish," she said with a smirk to match his, "Yikes. Maybe you really are a… seaweed brain."

"Yikes. Seaweed brain? What does that even mean?"

"Yikes. Proving more that you are one. It's someone who's head is so full of seaweed, that there's no room for brain cells."

"Yikes. I believe I just got burned by a very…  _wise_  girl."

"Yikes. Wise?"

"Yeah that's what I'm sticking with."

"Yikes. You broke the yikes train." That got them both cracking up. _So far, this date's pretty good,_  Annabeth thought with a mental grin.

"Yep. I'm the seaweed brain who broke the yikes train." Percy joked. Annabeth laughed.

"And I'm the wise girl who called you out on it."

"So, wise girl," Percy waggled his eyebrows as he said her nickname. She rolled her eyes. "Tell me a little about yourself."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Hmmm… Favorite color?"

"Currently I'm leaning towards sea green…" Annabeth said, immediately blushing. Percy smirked a little, and raised his eyebrows as if to say  _ha. you're already smitten._ "What about you?"

"BLUE." He said with such an intensity that Annabeth leaned back a little.

"Oh, um okay. Blue. That's cool"

Percy laughed. "Sorry, it's just my mom and I have this thing with blue food, so it became my favorite color. I just get really excited thinking about how the whole situation turned out. See, my mom was with this NASTY guy who I like to call 'Smelly Gabe'. He said that there was no such thing as blue food, so we went out of our way to eat blue food. And finally, when I was (about?) twelve, she dumped his sorry ass. Now she's with this really awesome guy, Paul, but the blue food joke is still going strong."

Annabeth smiled. A teenage boy who's not afraid to talk about how close is/was with his mom.  _This seaweed brain is really something,_ she thought. Out loud, she joked, "When you were twelve? What was that a couple months ago?"

Percy gave her an annoyed look, then smiled . "YEAH! How'd you know! I'm suuuuuppppeeeerrrr excited for middle school!" he squealed in his highest pitched voice. Annabeth couldn't breathe for the next five minutes, she was laughing so hard. The whole time, Percy sat there with this smug smile that seemed to say  _Who's the funniest person ever? That's right, ME!_

As she opened her mouth to respond, one of the Starbucks workers came over. "Hey, Perce, you're break's up. It was actually over about 10 minutes ago, but you two were so cute that we couldn't bear to end your date." she said, causing the two to blush.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Percy said, making it a point to stare at his shoes. He dared to look at Annabeth. "I'll text you after my shift is over."

"Sounds good." Annabeth replied, mentally freaking out.  _Okay was this date good enough for a kiss? Maybe just a hug? Was this even a date, I mean it was only like half an hour?_  She stood up, unsure what to do. She would have to walk by Percy to get to the exit, and he would have to pass her to get back to the counter. The two locked eyes, both with matching confused looks in their eyes. Awkwardly, Annabeth leaned in for a hug.  _Oh, thank the gods! He's leaning in for a hug too!_ she thought. As the Starbucks employees all 'awwwww'ed, she and Percy quickly separated and hustled away from each other. Her phone buzzed as soon as she headed out the door.  _Yikes._ Smiling she typed back, _yikes._

_…_

"TELL ME EVERYTHING!" Thalia shrieked from the other side of the phone.

"QUIT YELLING!" Annabeth shrieked back. Thalia sighed.

"Just tell me, Annie. I need to know how this went! This is your first date since Lu-"

"OKAY, well anyway," Annabeth said, talking over her best friend. "It was awesome! He's incredibly funny, though a bit of a seaweed brain."

"A what?"

"Seaweed brain. That's my nickname for him. It means someone who's head is so full of seaweed, that there's no room for brain cells. He calls me wise girl for some reason. I think I really like him Thals. I haven't laughed that hard, and had that much fun since we went to that amusement park for my sixteenth birthday!" She smiled thinking about that memory. "Honestly. And on a coffee shop half-date. I wouldn't call it a date since it was less than half an hour."

"Hmm, I don't know. I think it counts. I mean, he took his break for you. They only get one of those, and he wanted to spend it with you… AGH you guys are so cute already!" Thalia couldn't help but squeal. Her little Annine is finally dating again!

The two continued chatting for another half an hour before Annabeth screamed. "ANNIE ARE YOU OKAY?!" Thalia asked, panicking.

"HE TEXTED ME! He said that he wants to meet for lunch since our previous date was so short!" Annabeth shouted excitedly.

"YAS! Go get him, and call me after. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too, girlie. Byeeee." With a grin covering her face, she texted Percy.  _Any place in mind?_ His response made her jaw DROP.  _My house?_ followed by  _I can have a pizza here in fifteen minutes if you're in._

_I'm in._

_…_

He gave her the address, and sure enough, as she was walking towards his apartment, the pizza delivery guy was leaving. "So you're Annabeth, huh? I can see why Percy likes you." She just stared at him.

"Oh, Annabeth, this is my bro Jason. He works at the pizza place. Here's your tip by the way, bro."

"Thanks, bro. Nice meeting you, Annabeth." Jason did the weird guy hug thing with Percy and walked away. Annabeth was SO confused, but let it go when she smelled the pizza.  _First date, part two_. she thought. Percy laughed. She gave him a quizzical look.

"Your comment? 'First date, part two'. It was funny."

"WAIT. I said that out loud?!"

Percy gave her a knowing look and said "Yikes." he paused, "You know, yikes seems be our thing. Maybe yikes will be our always."

Annabeth froze. "Did you- did you just? Did you, a teenage male, make a reference to The FaulT IN OUR STARS?!"

"Hells yeah I did. Now let's eat!" Annabeth sighed.  _This boy was really something special._

Percy guided Annabeth to the kitchen, where she was surprised to find the table already set. "What do you want to drink?" Percy asked, "I have water, soda, and I think lemonade."

"Um, I'll just take water, I guess."

"Alright, I'll get that for you. Why don't you start on the pizza." he said, before scurrying off to go get water. Annabeth was stunned.  _This boy is just full of surprises! A teenage boy letting a girl eat before him whILE HE WAITS ON HER?! This has got to be too good to be true!_

On the other side of the kitchen, Percy was scrambling to get her water ready. His soda was already on the table. When it was ready, he over dramatically set it down in front of her. She giggled and took a sip.

"So," Annabeth started, "Where did we leave off on our First Date, Part One?"

"Something about me being twelve."

"Oooooh right." She laughed remembering that conversation. "How could I forget?"

"I don't know, I mean you laughed about it for like twenty minutes." Percy teased. "I'm glad I'm not twelve though."

"And why is that?"

"Twelve year old me would've never been able to get such a hot date."

"Well, if makes you feel any better, twelve year old me wouldn't have been able to get a date as hot as myself either." she stated with a shrug that said,  _what can I say? I'm hot._

Percy threw his head back and laughed like a little kid.  _God, I really like her._ "So, I think we've so far established that you're hot and that our twelve year old selves needed some major improving. Great conversation." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If you're not twelve, you're what?"

"Eighteen. Nineteen in about a week."

"Same! Well, I won't be nineteen in a week, but I'm eighteen as well. What college do you go to?"

"Stanford, studying architecture. (A/N: I have no clue if these schools actually have good programs in the areas Percy/Annabeth specialize in) What about you?"

"UCLA, studying marine biology."

"How appropriate for California. You don't seem like a surfer type though."

"Oh I can catch some MAJOR waves. But I'm more interested in what happens UNDER the surface of the water, rather than over. Why architecture?"

"When I was really little, my mom left me. And then my dad got remarried, and had twins with my step monster. The bitch HATES me. Then my dad got really sick and passed away a couple years ago…"Percy softened, feeling sorry. "BUT what I took away from it all was the constant change. I want to build something, something special. Something that'll last for forever. Or at least a century. So yeah, that's why I want to be an architect. Sorry you had to suffer for the tragic backstory." Annabeth tried to play it off with a shrug and a smile.

Percy grabbed her hand, even though it was covered in pizza grease. "From what I've learned about you so far, if anyone can build something special, it's you."

She looked him deeply in the eyes, and felt herself lean in.

He looked her deeply in the eyes, and felt himself lean in.

Their lips locked.

It was pretty much the best pizza-flavored kiss ever.


	2. Chapter 2

Time Skip: 2 Months Later

For the first time in two years, Annabeth is happy. This is the thought that runs through her mind as she walks to Starbucks, hand comfortably in Percy's. She fines it ironic that they're celebrating their two month anniversary there, and internally chuckles, remembering the conversation.

_Okay, Annie-_

**_HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT! DONT CALL ME ANNIE!_ **

_*laughter* Anyway, Annie-_

**_Percy, I swear on any and all gods-_ **

_Okay, fine, ANNABETH. Can I continue?_

**_Thank you. Proceed._ **

_*sigh* Our two month anniversary is coming up soon, three days to be exact, and I was thinking that we should do something special…_

**_Any ideas in mind?_ **

_Well, at first I was thinking of doing a really fancy dinner, until I realized you would HATE that. So, I'm thinking of going back to the place of our first date. Starbucks date, the two seater in the corner. ON MY DAY OFF, so we can have more than just fifteen minutes this time._

**_*laughter* Sounds like a plan, Seaweed Brain._ **

_*talking so you can hear the smile in his voice* See you soon, Wise Girl._

Today was only their two month anniversary, but Annabeth felt as though she'd known Percy forever. They just… clicked. Polar opposites, yet alike in so many ways. All she knew, after this short period of time, was that she couldn't imagine life without his stupid jokes, midnight texts, and piercing green gaze. These were the thoughts that ran through her head as she walked into Starbucks, goofy smile on her face. The smile was nearly frozen to her face as she came to a startling realization, she loved him.

…

Percy had never been happier. From the moment he saw Annabeth, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He tried to act smart and confident on that very first day, and almost screwed up ever having a chance with her. But things worked out the best. Now, they were celebrating their two month anniversary, walking hand in hand to the place where they had their very first date. In the past two months, he learned that Annabeth's personality was even better than her appearance. He didn't even want to imagine a life without her incredibly quick wit, exasperated sighs (seaweed brain!), and gray eyes that were only ever focused when she was looking at him. These were the thoughts that ran through his head as he walked into Starbucks, looking adoringly at Annabeth. He realized what he was doing, and felt like his heart would explode. He loved her.

Percy and Annabeth walked into the Starbucks, lovestruck smiles on their faces. Both thought that absolutely NOTHING could ruin today. They were wrong.

Someone was at their table.

Not just someone either. It was Luke.

Annabeth immediately panicked. Trying not to let her fear show, she tried to think of a solution. Unfortunately, before she got the chance, Percy noticed him. "Be right back," he said to her, kissing her on the cheek. "Excuse me, mister, are you almost done?"

Luke looked up. Looked past Percy. Smirked.

"For anyone else, I would be." Luke said, as he only had two bites left of his food. "But for Annie and her new man, nah."

"Wise Girl, do you know him?" Percy asked, but she couldn't answer.

She was a million- well really it was only like a hundred, if Annabeth was being honest- miles away and two years back. The memories were flooding in her brain, threatening to drown her. The screaming. Harsh curses. Anger. The breaking of glass. Her picture frame on the floor. Shattered. The bruises she tried to cover up. Excess amounts of foundation. Fear. The months she spent waiting. Hopelessly believing. Praying. The months she spent crying. Blaming herself. Depressed. The secrets she kept. Hiding them from even Thalia. Ashamed.

"W-wise girl?"

Luke just laughed. "Wow, Annie, you haven't changed at all. Still a small, teeny, little baby"

"What the hell is your problem?"  _He doesn't have a problem, he IS the problem._ Annabeth thought.

"Oh, nothing much. Still just testing Annie." Luke replied with a smirk.

_Just testing Annie_ , she thought.  _Ha. That's what you call these mind games, huh?_ He looked her in the eyes, and she couldn't help but turn away after only a few seconds. The thing about Luke was, the worst part in the whole thing was, that he genuinely didn't think he did anything wrong. He believed that everything he did, was right. Morally correct, even. And Annabeth hated it. But she was too afraid to stop him, and she hated him for making her so weak. She hated him for giving her this baggage. She hated him for turning her into "damaged goods". She hated him, she hated him, she hated him! And she was powerless to tell him so. And Luke knew it.

"Okay, I'll cut you a deal," Luke started. "If Annie tells me to get up, then I will." Gods. She hated him. She fucking hated him. (A/N: sorry for the language any younglings) Percy looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to tell him to leave…

But he didn't know her story. He didn't know this part of her past. He didn't know that she would run out of Starbucks. He didn't know that Luke would be smirking as he ran after her. He didn't know that Luke was dating one of the baristas. He didn't know that this wouldn't be that last he'd see of Luke.

Annabeth had never run so fast in her life. Her legs were pumping, heart rate speeding, breathing quickening, tears streaming.  _Today of all days. I thought I was finally free._ She didn't know where she was going, just let her legs do the work. Her brain was stuck in the past, reliving horrible moments from so long ago. Before she knew it, she was at Percy's front door.  _Shit. (A/N: this chapter is gonna have cursing sorry younglings) Shit. SHIT. This is SO not the place she wanted to go. Percy would probably come back here first, because he knew she hated being in her apartment alone._ Sure enough, she saw his round the corner. Panicking, she tried to bolt, but he was too fast. He caught her arm, and gripped her tight. Natural instincts kicked in, and she flinched, trying to cover her face with her free arm. Expecting the pain that never came. This was when Percy realized something was VERY wrong. He quickly dropped her arm, and tried not to flinch at the jagged sigh of relief she let out.

"Let's go inside, get some tea, and talk." Percy suggested, knowing tea always calmed Annabeth down. She nodded and walked inside, trying to make herself as small as possible.

A couple minutes later, after Percy had made Annabeth some tea, and wrapped her under a blanket, he asked. "What happened between you and Luke?"

"I can't."

"You can't what?"

"Explain it."

"Why not?"

"Too hard."

"Can you give me an answer that's more than two words?"

"Not now." It was around here that Percy started to feel frightened. The Annabeth he knew was a very verbose person, constantly full of life, and laughter.

"Okay… Can you explain Luke in two words?"

"Nasty motherfucker." Annabeth NEVER cursed. He was wondering if he needed to call the authorities on this guy.

"Why did he react the way he did today?"

"Twisted motherfucker." Annabeth's mind was too scrambled to even fully process what Percy was saying, so answering all these questions was difficult. Percy on the other hand, was finally starting to put the puzzle pieces together.

"Was he… an  _abusive_  motherfucker?" Annabeth's silence said it all.

"Did he ever hurt you?" That one question broke the dam. Annabeth started bawling. She fucking hated him so much. But she hated the fact that she'd have to tell Percy everything even more.

…

About half an hour and a few hundred sobs later, Annabeth was finally catching her breath. Her tea had gone cold long ago, but she sipped it anyway, thankful for its comforting taste. "I don't want to pressure you, but can you now explain what happened?" Percy asked softly.

Annabeth nodded. "As I'm sure you've gathered, Luke is my ex-boyfriend. And the one person I NEVER wanted to see again. We were together for around eight months… The first months, were great." She paused, thinking of the good times they had once shared. They almost erased everything else. "He showered me with love, affection, attention, and presents. Always little things. A bouquet of roses, a stuffed animal, a box of chocolates, etc. I was so happy at first. Thinking we could last forever. It was a good summer- hell, even a great summer. Then the seasons changed. The cold came, the dark days started. He turned bitter, and controlling. Not letting me go ANYWHERE without him, yelling if I did." She stopped looking at Percy then, and instead focused on the tea bag. "One night, I was feeling bold, so I wrote him a note saying I was going to a party with Thalia. We weren't doing much, and I only had one beer, but that was enough for him. He came to the party, dragged me out of the house… And…" Percy grabbed her hand trying to comfort her, but she pulled away, lost in her own mind. "And he hit me. I thought it was just gonna be a one time thing. I didn't talk to him for two days, though he constantly left me sweet messages apologizing, and letting me know that he still loved me. I was a fool. I believed him. Everytime he would do it, this would be the follow up result. At first it was random and infrequent… Until it wasn't. Soon it seemed once a week, I would be wearing a turtleneck, or a scarf, to try and hide the bruises. The long-forgotten foundation in the back of my cabinet soon became my best friend. Then one day it stopped. He stormed into my room, broke several of the presents he got for me, and left. No warning. Just a text saying  _I'm leaving. Don't look for me..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's the next part of their story! the ending is kind of crappy and rushed- sorry :/

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this is such a mess- it's my first fic!


End file.
